Casing for truck and freight car heaters



Sept. 3, 1946.

P. A. ANDERSON EIAL 2, 7,124

(IA-SING FOR TRUCK AND FREIGHT CAR HEATERS 'FiledApril so, 1943 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Sept. 3, 1946.

P. A. ANDERSON El'AL CASING FOR TRUCK AND FREIGHT CAR HEATERS Filed April 30. 1943 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 L/zo' 4 x V [rwenlars Z3 jeler d flrzrson 47 2 Int Jyzrfi'n flndfm'omfi'n Earl Eamem JZn, 1 Edward:

Patented Sept. 3, 1946 CASING FOR TRUCK AND FREIGHT CAR HEATERS Peter A. Anderson, Portland, Eric Martin Anderson, Sn, Westbrook, Earl W. Hansen, Bangor, and John H. Edwards, Portland, Maine, assignors to Utilities Distributors, Maine, a corporation of Maine Inc., Portland,

Application April 30, 1943, Serial No. 485,226

4 Claims. (Cl. 220-55) an improved heater of this character which will require no attention in firing and which will maintain the automatic heat control to a very close degree setting and will automatically shu off should the pilot be extinguished. I

Further objects of the invention are to provide safety to the operator and others in or about the heater in that the heater will not give off carbon monoxide gas; the same operates on a service and reserve fuel supply; admits servicing without interruption of heat; is constructed of relatively light weight, provides for long hours of continuous operation, is campact, rigid in construction, economicalof fuel consumption and admits of quantity manufacture.

With the foregoing and other objects'in View, the invention will be more fully described hereinafter, and will be more particularly pointed out in the claims appended hereto.

Referring more particularly to the drawings I and l l indicate two cylinders or bottles of the gas fuel, which are connected, in a well known manner, to an automatic equipment serving gauge l2. This gauge is connected by a line 54 to the burner I i, which is protected by the pilot i and the temperature regulator or thermostat I 6..

Gas is drawn from one container until it becomes exhausted; whereupon the regulator l2 automatically shifts to the second container, and

the indicating gauge i1 indicates that gas is being drawn from the reserve supply. A metal disc l8 extends beneath the burner l4 and acts in a dual capacity, namely, as a protection to the apparatus below the disc from the heat of the flame and in the secondplace as a reflector to cause the heat to spread horizontally outward in all radial directions and upwardly. In-this last function the disc l8 cooperates withan inverted cone l9 which constitutes a spreader, serving to spread the flame and heat, and consequently creates more radiation and circulation of heat. The burner i4 is confined between the disc I8 and the cone l9 and the-parts l8 and I9 serve to cooperate to divert the heat upwardly and outwardly in all radial directions. The cylinders or containers H3 are held in place by a rod 20 and a bar 2 I. The lower end of the rod 20 is formed into, or carries, a hook 22, the open end or bill of which extends upwardly in substantial parallelism with the axis of the rod 20. The construction and relation of this bill 22 to the rod 20 is such that, in the tilting position of i the rod 20, the bill 22 may engage with a perforation 23 in a base sill 24 which is preferably of metal mounted with its stronger edgewise dimension vertically and rigidly in the bottom portion of the screen frame which contains the burner and its supply equipment. The base sill is Welded, :brazed, soldered or otherwise affixed to the bottom or floor 29. The upper end portion of the rod 20 is threaded as indicated at 25 to receive a butterfly or other nut 26 which may be readily turned by the fingers of the operator in order to either tighten or loosen the transverse locking bar 2| which bridges across between the two containers l 0 and I I and is notched at each end portion as indicated at 21 in order to cooperate with the rims 28 of the containers. The bar 2| is preferably of an inverted V-construction in cross section with its lower spread legs engaging spaced points on the rims 28.

The containers l0 and H are supported upon the bottom or floor 29 of a screen frame or cage which acts as a protection for the equipment. The back 30, sides 3| and 32 and front panel 33 are all of screen or open work mesh construction; being secured together and closed at their upper ends by a preferably imperforate top 34. Handles 35 mounted upon the case enable the 'entire unit to be lifted as a whole and .easily transported to the place of use. The vertical arms of the handles may be slidably mounted in the case so that, when released, the handles will drop down by gravity and lie flush with top edge of frame.

The front panel 33 may be made in any suitable manner for instance of the mesh wire secured to lower and upper style bars 36 and 31 and vertical side bars 38 and 39 all united into to -freely slip over the eye -42. a slot 45 in the upper end of the haspbar 40 --slides-freely on and off the eye-42. The slotted a substantially rectangular open frame to which the mesh 33 is secured. The rear panel 30 and the side panels 3| and 32 may be likewise separately made and welded to the other screen panel memberaandato thelbiottom 29 and topi34in order to unit into "an enclosing case of 'a size suitable for accommodating the containers l9 and II and the other equipment as shown.

The front panel 33 is not secured -.to the case but is readily removable for servicing and -replacements. The containers l and H are of course also removable when-empty for-substitution by other replenished containers.

The front panel 23 is held "in place bya hasp bar 40 and by the use of a padlock 4| which .is interlocked in an eye 42 on the outer end of a bolt 43 which is screw threaded or otherwise secured in the top 34, as more particularlyseen in Figure 2. The eye 42 is enlarged over'the diameter of the shank of the bolt 43 and the upper style bar 3'! is provided with the slot-44 In like 'manner portion 45 at the upper end of the hasp bar "40 -'is 'o'iiset outwardly from the main vertical plane *of the hasp bar 40 in order to allow the major length of the hasp bar 411 to lie close along'in front of the screen '33. 'The'upper end, as shown in Figure 2, is turned horizontally outward and then upwardly to-extend beneath and in front of the style bar 31.

This position of the mainbody of the hasp bar '40 bringsits'lower end into position topa'ss down into a socket 46 in the central portion of the 'lower'style bar'36 of the front -panel. Thebase sill 24 is long enough to project at its forward end into this socket 46. The projecting end is formed-with a notch 41 in vertical registry with the hasp bar-40 to provide aseat in which the lower end of the hasp bar'rests in an interlocking engagement with thebasesill :24.

'By this constructionthe'hasp'bar 24 performs a double function in that it interlocks at both 'upper and loweren'ds. When the'padlock 41 "is -removed'by the use of a key in thepossession'of an authorized person, the hasp bar 40 is-free to '-be swung or sprung outwardly'at its upper end to disengage -'such end from the eye 42. In this position the hasp bar '40 is free to be lifted to disengage its lowerend fromthe'notch 41. This lifting movementof the haspbar 401s facilitated by'the 'ofiset 48.

Whereas the containers .l'll, "H and the regu- .lating equipment 1.2 are mounted below the top 34, the burner, pilot l5 and thethermostat f6 all project above .the top 34 .and may be supported thereby. These .last mentioned .parts .are also preferably .encased in ascreen cage comprising the front wall 49, back 'wall 59 and the sidesd'il and -5'21,-all built up of aopenrectangular ."frames and securedtoione another and'erected upon the t'op'=34 and secured theretocin anydesirable :Way. The top "34 serves as a :bottom for this superstructure, the top of which may .be ileft open (if desired.

In the use of the 4 device, the improved heater requires no attention in firing. The pilot =T'5 will ignite the main burner 14 whenever the thermostat I6 dictates. Thi thermostat 16 maybe adjusted toa very clos degree setting. If the pilot should .ior any reason'become extinguished the supply .of the gas is automatically shut off. The

burner does not 'give on carbon monoxide gas an exhausted container to be removed without interrupting the service of heat maintained by the reserve container. By loosening the butter- 'fly.nut26 the bar 2| may be disengaged from the rim '28 of an exhausted cylinder and that :cylinder may be'removed and replaced by a full cylinder; whereupon the notches 21 of the bar '2'! are'reengaged with the flange 28, and the butiterfifly nut 26 tightened down in place.

A satisfactory form of the invention has been built to a weight of only lbs., which provides fuel for eighty hours of wide open continuous operation; and perhaps one to two hundred hours normal'operation. The overall height of this device is 87% inches; overall width of 26 inches and overall depth of 12% inches; thus making'a compact and efiicient burner and supply construction. The device can be manufactured in any quantity since the special parts necessary do not require special stamping tools. The parts are rigid in construction being all welded of heavy angle iron frame construction.

The cylinders 19 and II may be equipped with excess flow valves which willshut off the supply in case the pigtails -53 are broken or severed.

The improved device is economical of fuel. The transportation of the requisite fuel occupies less space and is easier to handle than'fuls presently used for the same purpose. The 'device is a safeguard against fire in case of accident since it'does not utilize solid or liquid fuels.

It is obvious that various changes and modifications may be made in the details of construction and design of the above specifically "described embodiment of this invention without departingfromthe spirit thereof, such changesand modifications being restricted only by the scope of the following claims:

What is claimed is:

1. For use with a pair of supply and reserve gas containers, a casing for receiving same, .a removable vertical panel 'for the casing through which the containersmay be introduced and removed and having a socket in an intermediate lower part, a fixed base sill in the casing'between containers with a forwardly-extending a bar positioned and constructed to hold the containers down in the casing, a tie-.member connecting said bar andbase sill,.a hasp bar for said removable panel having an end removably received .into-saidsocket and the notch of the .base sill and locking means carried on the casing and engaging said hasp bar to prevent said end of the hasp bar from being removed from said socket and notch.

2. .For 'use with 'twin supply and reserve gas containers, a casing having compartments to re- "ceive the containers, a fixed base sill in the casing separating the containers and having a forwardly projecting end with a'notch in its upper edge, a removable vertical panelfor the casing throughwhich the containers may be introduced and removed and having a socket in a central lower portion opening inwardly and upwardly and adapted to receive theforward notched end 5 of the base sill, a hasp bar for the panel having a lower end removably fitted through the upper opening of said socket and into said notch, looking means carried by the casing and engaging an upper part of the hasp bar to prevent the lower end from being lifted out of said socket and.

notch a hold-down bar positioned and constructed to hold the containers down in the easing, and means connecting said bar and base sill.

3. The combination of claim 2 further characterized by the fact that a shoulder on the upper portion of the hasp bar encounters a part of the 6 panel to prevent lifting of the hasp bar out of the notch of the bas sill.

4. The combination of claim 2 wherein an outwardly offset upper part of the hasp bar engages an upper style of the panel to prevent raising the hasp bar, said locking means having a part affixed to the casing and adapted to receive thereon the upper portions of the panel and hasp bar.

PETER A. ANDERSON.

ERIC MARTIN ANDERSON, SR. EARL W. HANSEN.

JOHN H. EDWARDS. 

